On Friday the 30th I ventured out to the Bakery to catch a band I’d never heard of, and one of my favourite locals. A night full of surprises, ending with a ticket inspector and a close call.

It’d been a while since I’d been to the Bakery, so walking in and finding the stage had been moved was quite a shock. It’s a big change for the better. By moving the stage into the back left corner of the venue, it got rid of all the dead space which had been on the right of the stage when it was centered on the back wall. They’ve also moved the large stacks of speakers which used to sit in front of the stage and caused a lot of visual obstruction. Two thumbs up for the Bakery.¬†

¬†Sugar Army

I arrived halfway through Sugar Army’s set, and as I hadn’t had a chance to see them since February, I took some time out to watch and not shoot. It still amazes me how someone who just stands there with a mic stand can command so much power. These guys are the next band who will explode out of Perth, mark my words. Their EP is a phenomenal effort, so be sure to check out their tracks on Myspace. Anyway, while I planned on just watching and not shooting, the nice bright yellow lights that were popping up every now and again were changing my mind. They were just so clean, and the scene was so contrasty…it was a massive carrot being dangled in front of my face. Of course, when I get down the front, the red lights¬†& strobes take up residence, and that’s¬†how it was for the remaining few songs. Ah well.¬†

The Whip

The amount of smoke that was on the stage by the time The Whip walked out was a bit of a worry. Especially cause the lights were relatively flat for the first song, and everything was just turning into a murky, foggy mess. I was keeping an eye on the time, cause the band had started later than I’d expected and I’d only paid for parking until 11.45. It was currently 11.35 and things were not looking promising. I managed to nab a few relatively clean shots, but they weren’t great so I decided to risk it and stay a bit longer.

Staying longer was hardly a strain, the band were great, and I was tempted to really push my luck and stay til the end of their set (however¬†my opinion may have been influenced to some degree¬†by the Batman shirt). They were a bit like Dukes of Windsor, or a cross between Harlequin League &¬†Sugar Army¬†(coincedentally, the two local supports for the night), with some elektro beetz thrown in. I’m not big on that whole disco-electro-rock thing, but it was an exceptionally entertaining set (well, what I saw of it). The ‘breakthrough’ came in the fourth or fifth song, when the singer moved over to the keyboard and was bathed in a cool white/blue light. Bingo. The shot wasn’t extraordinary, nor was it the one that eventually ran, but it was solid enough on the back of the camera that I was happy to leave.

¬†

Hightailed it out to my car, and was relieved to see there wasn’t a ticket on my windscreen. Sat in the car for a few minutes reviewing my shots, and just as I drove off, the ticket inspector was ticketing the car NEXT TO ME. Talk about a close call. I’d been caught once in that carpark before, the rates are really high to park there, the ticket machines are¬†often broken, and they’re regularly patrolled. It’s only perk in the world is that it’s right next to the venue. I’m still yet to pay my now very overdue fine, so I don’t want to particularly get caught again. The prospect of having my wheel clamped isn’t exactly enticing.